In the related art, pathology specimens are observed in order to diagnose pathological conditions of cells themselves by examining the sizes of the cell nuclei, cell heteromorphism, etc. or in order to diagnose whether or not the tissue of the specimen as a whole has developed cancer by examining the conditions of multiple cells or intercellular substances. In the case where tissue is to be diagnosed, the whole slide specimen is observed to check whether or not any abnormal shape is present.
When pathology specimens are supplied, usually, multiple (e.g., 24) specimens are mounted on a slide tray, which is an accommodating section in the shape of a single sheet, and the observer has to observe all the pathology specimens. There are known devices for acquiring images of multiple pathology specimens mounted on a slide tray (e.g., see Non Patent Literature 1).